When a Zebra Loses His Stripes
by Miranthia
Summary: This is a resubmission of the previous one.  I edited it pretty extensively, so hopefully it's better this time around.  Anyways, Elliot/Olivia fluff; this is my take on how 'Zebras' should have ended.  Rated T for some language!


SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't seen Zebras, then you probably shouldn't read this.

Another SVU fic with a Elliot/Olivia pairing :3 Only, this one is just fluffly, not smutty. _I _didn't even know I was capable of writing something other than smut. Yay for surprises! Anways, enjoy!

**AN:** I don't own anything Law & Order: SVU related.

Everything had happened so fast that she wasn't sure how she'd gotten into this mess. There she was, Dale Stucky standing in front of her, their faces inching closer. No matter how much she hated this, it was the only way to keep him distracted. She just hoped that her plan would work out. If not, she just may puke on him, and then strangle the life out of him. Her mind reeled, picking over the events that led up to this.

_Something was not right here. Not right at all. Elliot __**never **__left his phone; it was like an extra appendage that he could detach from his body at will._

_And __**Stucky **__had answered when she had called him. What the hell was up with that? Shouldn't he be in the lab, working, instead of hanging around her partner's desk?_

_She did not like this one little bit. Not at all. Period._

_**Sushi? What the fuck**__. Olivia had her arms crossed, impatiently tapping her fingers as she glared at the red digital numbers above the elevator door; the thing was descending way to slow for her liking. She chewed on the inside of her bottom lip nervously, afraid of what she was going to find._

_The ding from the elevator brought her back to the present and she exited quickly, her feet swiftly and silently carrying her through the hall to the lab. The entire room was pretty dark, only a few of the florescent lights burning brightly here and there. The familiar buzz of equipment was absent, everything shut down as most everyone had gone home for the night. Though she'd been down there a thousand times, she'd never felt uncomfortable; until now. Something just didn't feel right about the scene._

"_Elliot?" Olivia put her hand on the gun holstered at her hip and rounded a bunch of tables, scanning the aisle. She saw a figure at the end, the lighting too poor to help her identify him/her right away. As she got closer though, she could tell it was a man seated in a chair. "El?" she questioned again, her voice hesitant. Her heart dropped to her feet and her blood ran cold in her veins, now able to make him out clearly. The sight of him duck taped to the chair, numerous bleeding cuts and gashes covering his torso, was enough to bring tears to her eyes. "Elliot!" He was trying to say something, but the tape over his mouth muffled his warning._

"_Don't move!"_

_The command stopped her in her tracks, but on instinct she had drawn her gun. She stared at her wounded partner in disbelief. "Dale?"_

Olivia swallowed the ever-rising nausea as she inched closer to him, her face lowering to his. Their lips met; the youngster more than willing to comply with her lead. She took his face in her hands and slowly rotated their bodies, Dale's back now completely facing Elliot.

Elliot watched in horror as the kiss deepened, just as disgusted with it as his partner was. Part of him wanted to throw up, another part of him was still trying to figure out what the hell was going on, but there was an even bigger part of him that was feeling something else. He was almost angry; until he saw Liv's eyes open momentarily, her orbs staring at him over Dale's shoulder. He took the hint, and quickly kicked Stucky in the back of the knee.

She felt him buckle and gasp in pain, releasing her hold on him faster than you could say 'yuck'. Olivia whirled around and struck Dale in the throat, the boy crumpling to the floor without a sound. She grabbed the gun from off the ground and aimed it at him for a moment, slowly inching towards the lab table containing all the evidence pertaining to the case.

Liv snatched the bloody knife off of said table and rushed over to Elliot, cutting him free from his binds. "You ok?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Y-yeah…" he managed to stammer out, slouching slightly from the pain.

"You sure?" Olivia sobbed, her distress forcing itself out now that the danger had passed. She pulled the tape off of him and helped him to his feet, Elliot staggering into her. "You alright?" she asked again, trying to reassure herself that he was still there with her.

He nodded his head slightly, his breathing labored. "How'd you know?"

"Stucky said you went to get sushi. You and raw fish?" Despite the pain she herself was feeling, she couldn't help but smirk slightly.

"Ah." He stared down at the bodies, shaking his head slightly. "When'll it end?"

Olivia stood next to him and shook her head slightly. She returned her eyes to her partner, and sucked in a shaky breath, no longer able to hold her tears back. "I'm so sorry." she choked out, tears streaming down her face. "If I'd have been here sooner-"

"Hey hey, none of that; you couldn't have known. None of us could have." He said firmly.

She shook her head and looked away from him, ashamed with herself. "I hurt you. I hurt you!" she sobbed. "He'd already hurt you, but I-", she was cut off abruptly as Elliot turned towards her and claimed her lips with his own.

She was totally taken off guard, but her eyes closed on their own for a moment before she turned her head away. "Elliot, we can't-", she was cut off again, Elliot turning her head towards his to capture her lips once more. He backed her into the tall table, the edge of it jabbing her in the back. His tongue brushed her bottom lip and she broke away again, her breathing a little rapid. "No, please, don-".

Elliot rocked his hips into hers; ignoring the pain it caused him. She gasped from the sudden friction and he took advantage of her parted lips. As soon as their tongues touched, he knew she was finished trying to protest. He wrapped his arms around her, brushing the tears off of her face as they kissed each other passionately. She had wrapped an arm around his neck, grasping his shoulder tightly, her other hand cradling the back of his head.

Olivia moaned into his mouth as he rocked his hips again, her body arching into his, her skin on fire. He broke away from her lips and kissed down her neck, his hands snaking up her shirt to caress her soft skin. She threw her head back for him, her eyes closed and her breathing heavy, Elliot's tongue snaking out to taste her. Eventually their mouths reconnected and they kissed each other ravenously, Olivia desperately trying to relay her feelings in one single moment. She had been so afraid that she'd lost him, and had continued to feel that as she saw that he'd been attacked.

Regretfully the two finally broke apart; neither of them caring that he'd gotten blood all over the front of her. Elliot rested his forehead against hers, his fingers still stroking her skin softly. She breathed his scent in deeply and ran her fingers through his short hair. "Jealous?" she asked breathlessly.

He opened his eyes and stared at her, her brown gaze opening to fixate on his ice blue ones. Elliot raised a hand and tilted her chin slightly. "You have no idea." He whispered against her swollen lips. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and cupped the side of her face, his thumb stroking her cheek slowly.

Olivia kissed him lightly and sighed sadly. "We need to talk about this." She said quietly.

"Later." Elliot promised. "But right now, we need to report this."

She nodded her head and broke away from his embrace, pulling one of his arms over her shoulders, supporting him as best she could. "We need to get you patched up too."

He nodded and the two headed towards the elevator, the prospect of something new hovering around them. Who knew that something beautiful would result from something so painful?


End file.
